Paltalk

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Paltalk
Basic data

developer PEERSTREAM, INC., New York, NY
Current  version 1.13
(February 2019)
operating system Windows , macOS , Android , iOS
German speaking Yes
de.paltalk.com

Paltalk is an online service for text , audio and video chat . The basic version of the Paltalk Messenger program is a free and advertising-financed online service from the USA and its terms of use are also subject to American law. Extended versions without advertising and with better video quality are subject to a charge - as is constantly pointed out when using them free of charge.

software

In June 2008, Paltalk also released a web browser-based version of PaltalkScene, called Paltalk Express . The client required Adobe Flash and Java and had almost all functions, as well as Paltalk Scene. Due to the increasingly dwindling support for Adobe Flash in many web browsers, Paltalk Express was discontinued at the end of 2016 and briefly replaced by another application called Paltalk Desktop . This was also discontinued.

In July 2010, Paltalk Mobile was released, an app for Blackberry OS , iOS and Android .

construction

According to the company, there are 5,000 chat rooms, also called groups , but not all of them are online at the same time. A wide variety of interest groups come together here. There are rooms for music or video, chat rooms in different languages ​​and special rooms to get help with Paltalk. Other rooms have various ratings (ratings): The so-called "G" rooms ( General Audience, All ages ) are accessible to all users of all age groups and include the normal use of language in a normal conversation without suggestive or offensive content. The rooms marked with an "R" ( Adult Language Permitted ) also contain conversations on " not suitable for young people " (e.g. marital problems, deliberately rough discussions ( flaming ), but also sexual topics), but no nude presentations. There are also rooms marked "A" ( Adult Language, Nudity Permitted ), which are also only intended for adults ("Adult"), which now also allow nude portraits of themselves or recorded pornographic videos . After confirming the age of majority (18) with a simple switch, the A rooms are also displayed. These rooms include, but are not limited to, video chats with partly sexual exhibitionistic representations. All legal representations and sexual orientations are permitted.

It is possible to record the chat, but it violates PalTalk's terms of use if it is used improperly. A single chat room can hold up to 250 people. In the free basic version, videos of other chat partners can be viewed for ten seconds, after which there must be a one-minute break. Any files can be sent to other participants.

In 2014 there were over 96 million registered users, but in 2019, according to the company's own information, there were already 200 million registered users; In a 2006 survey, Paltalk recorded over eight billion minutes of call each year.

criticism

As it became known in June 2013, all communication (videos, calls and chats) taking place via Paltalk is recorded, stored indefinitely and evaluated by the US secret service NSA as part of the PRISM surveillance program .

The moderation and control is taken over by the users themselves. But this also means that in addition to other, well-moderated rooms, any racist and inflammatory chat rooms can be created. Certain violations can be reported to the help rooms, but with no guarantee of prosecution. Rude insults, threats and in one case even a live broadcast of a suicide by hanging ( Shropshire in England, 2007) brought Paltalk into criticism.

German constitution protection authorities report that Paltalk also plays a central role in Salafist training courses, as prominent supporters of the Salafist network of scholars appear as "online imams" via live broadcasts, such as E.g. the Leipzig Hassan Dabbagh and the Berlin Abdul Adhim Kamouss .

Patent lawsuits

In 2006, Paltalk Holdings sued Microsoft for payment of $ 90 million; With the technical basics of the Xbox multiplayer mode (including Halo ), Microsoft violated patents that Paltalk had acquired from HearMe in 2002. The proceedings ended in 2009 with a settlement , the amount of which was not known.

In September 2009, New York-based Paltalk Holdings again filed patent suits against other manufacturers of MMORPGs , including the South Korean NCsoft Corp. , in the small town of Marshall, Texas . ( Guild Wars ), the British Jagex Ltd. ( RuneScape ), Turbine Inc. ( Lord of the Rings ), Sony Online Entertainment and Activision Blizzard ( World of Warcraft ). In November 2010, the court dismissed the lawsuit against Jagex as unfounded. The British Jagex Ltd. pointed out that Paltalk Holdings had not contacted them for clarification prior to the lawsuit and that the Texas case resulted in seven-figure defense costs, and spoke of patent trolls .

Open source alternatives

The programs Jitsi and Ekiga are available as free open source alternatives to Paltalk - but without the functionality of topic-based public spaces . Completely encrypted chats, calls and video calls can be implemented via the cross-platform clients (Windows, Mac and Linux). A free registration is required for use.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Paltalk Brings Their Popular Online Community to Handheld Devices Paltalk Blog, NEW YORK, July 31, 2013, 2010
  2. ^ Terms of Service Paltalk
  3. ^ Harrison Weber: On the downswing, chat room giant Paltalk plans pivot inspired by YouTube & Twitch. venturebeat, October 31, 2014, accessed January 13, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Paltalk is suing Microsoft . In: Giga.de . September 15, 2006. Accessed on January 14, 2016.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.giga.de  
  5. ↑ NSA Prism program taps in to user data of Apple, Google and others Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill, The Guardian, June 7, 2013
  6. ↑ Chat room hanging captured on webcam The Sydney Morning Herald, March 26, 2007
  7. ↑ Constitutional Protection Report 2008 Bremen ( Memento of the original from June 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 3.3 MB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.inneres.bremen.de
  8. ↑ Situation report on the anti-constitutionality of Salafist endeavors (PDF; 423 kB) Conference of the Interior Ministers, June 2011
  9. ^ The Muslim youth scene Claudia Dantschke, BpB July 5, 2007
  10. ↑ Xbox Multiplayer: Microsoft sued Peter Steinlechner for 90 million dollars , golem.de March 10, 2009
  11. ↑ Multiple MMO developers / publishers named in patent suit By Michael Thompson, arstechnica.com September 17, 2009
  12. ↑ 35: 271 Patent Infringement, Texas Eastern District Court ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.rfcexpress.com
  13. ^ Sony, Activision Blizzard Sued Over Online Games (Update1) By Susan Decker, Bloomberg September 14, 2009
  14. ↑ UK-Based RuneScape Dev Jagex Wins Patent Infringement Lawsuit by Kris Graft, Gamasutra November 17, 2010